Venue

Edmonton is the capital of the western Canadian province of Alberta, located a three-hour drive north of Calgary. Situated on the North Saskatchewan river, the city of just under one million residents is known as the ‘gateway to the Canadian north.’ Edmonton is characterized as a cultural, governmental, and educational centre, but also as a hockey town. It is the historical home of Wayne Gretzky, whose Edmonton Oilers achieved dynasty status in the 1980s. Edmonton continues to make a name for itself in the hockey community by housing prominent NHL players such as Connor McDavid, by icing a Major Junior team, and focusing on the development of The Ice District—a mixed-use sports and entertainment hub in the city’s downtown core. The city also built a new arena in The Ice District in 2016, Rogers Place, where both the professional and junior teams play. From an academic perspective, the arena has caught the interest of scholars as the city deals with changes in community and economic relations where large stadiums are concerned. Finally, at the minor level alone, Hockey Edmonton is a driving force for the sport with over 8500 registrants annually.

The Hockey Conference will take place in the Faculty of Education on the U of A’s North Campus—one of five—which is nestled in a bend of the North Saskatchewan River in the Garneau area of Edmonton. Founded in 1908, the University is home to the oldest Faculty of Education in Canada and 2017 marks its 75th anniversary. Just under 40,000 graduate and undergraduate students attend the U of A and it employs approximately 15,000 people, including 41 3M National Teaching Fellows and 71 Rhodes Scholars. From an athletics perspective, the U of A holds 73 national titles and currently boasts just under 2,500 Academic All-Canadians. The Golden Bears (men’s) ice hockey team has recently won four Canada West titles in five years and the Pandas (women’s) ice hockey team finished the 2016-17 regular season ranked fifth in the country. Scholars at the U of A who work or have worked on ice hockey include Judy Davidson, Jay Scherer, and Dan Mason (all in Physical Education) as well as Marvin Washington (School of Business).